Hello again friends and good day to you wherever you are. I’m back from my post site launch weekend break with a small art update for you today. There is currently a small stack of art projects on my desk here so, assuming I don’t fall ill with the dreaded flu which is now making the rounds in Colorado, I should have several more of these to share in the coming weeks. Today I give you a first look at a portrait I’ve named: “Mr. Lazzaro”, an image that portrays my colleague and good friend Chris Lazarro.
When asked how he wanted to be portrayed in this image Chris was unsure. He and I share the gene responsible for an insatiable thirst for knowledge which can make it hard to commit to one archetype. People with this gene are rarely satisfied with knowing how to do one type of job or skill and instead constantly find themselves in the student role as they continue to learn and grow. Chris, however, has been fortunate enough to be gifted with a natural affinity for teaching as well. I can vouch for this having taken his Introduction to VB.NET 2005 course at Drury University back in 2005. He is a skilled craftsman, master programmer, and analytical problem solver coupled with a light-hearted inner gamer, outdoorsman, husband, and good friend. With that in mind, I decided to take on his online avatar request with broad sweeping strokes by focusing most of my energy on finding a pose that communicated the core of who he is while using a few simple props to illustrate the individual parts of the whole person. Some of these props are already visible: The laptop computer, the stack of books, the crude circle on top of the books which will eventually become an apple (the fruit of knowledge). With more detail I’ll be able to hint at other aspects of his character as well. Perhaps a logo on the lid of his laptop, or his t-shirt for one of his favorite online games? Maybe I’ll add the key-chord for his sea-doo on top of the books as well and a wedding ring will most certainly be needed.
Well there you have it friends, my first art project update here on the new site. I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. As a side note to any IE users viewing the site: I am aware that there are a few CSS issues with IE currently. I will strive to have these fixed this week. Thank you for your patience!
Posted by Jay in Art - Leave a Comment
Tags: Art, commission update, mr lazzaro
Well here we are ladies and gentlemen, standing on the ledge ready to leap. Over the last few months I’ve poured every free moment into the creation of this new brand for my online presence. My friends and coworkers from hairyLemon down in New Zealand will likely remember how long I mulled over the options. They will likely laugh as they remember how it seemed like I would never decide on a name for the site, let alone get to the act of actually designing it. However, here I am typing my second and last blog update before I backup the database and set the site live.
I’d like to take a moment to give a few shout outs to those who’ve helped make this site a reality. First and foremost I have to thank the man upstairs for giving me this passionate gift. Secondly, I want to thank my lovely wife Vanessa for her infinite patience and unyielding support. Thirdly, I want to thank my good friend Daniel Freitag, the quintessential German. You’re so unbelievably concise & practical. I truly appreciate you saying “Jay, what are you waiting for? Stop talking about it and just do it already.” Fourthly, I want to thank Jason Peters and all my former coworkers from hairyLemon for their wonderful critiques & criticisms. You guys really helped me shape this beast into something I’m proud of. I also want to thank my parents for letting me know I can do anything if I put my mind to it and my grandfather for being the first outspoken fan of my art.
Last but not least I want to thank each of you reading this. Thank you for taking an interest in something I love! Cheers! Lets get this show on the road!
Posted by Jay in General - [1] Comment
Hello everyone and welcome to the CopperBot blog! Over the last few days I’ve been diligently working on getting the site ready for public viewing. It’s been a long road getting CopperBot Media designed, cut and integrated but we’re nearly there and I’m getting pretty excited! A word to the wise, don’t decide to re-brand and thus redesign your website in the midst of an international move. Yes, because I love having more things on my plate than I could ever possibly hope to accomplish I decided to tackle this project just about the time my wife Vanessa and I decided it was time to move back to the United States from New Zealand. Why New Zealand in the first place? Why the move back? Those are questions to be answered at another time. What I want to talk about today is Wordpress.
Looking around the site you may notice a few powered by Wordpress blurbs here and there. While I’m not one to put all my eggs into one basket I gotta tell ya, I’m really digging this CMS so far. Back in New Zealand while I was working for hairyLemon (yes that is the actual company name) we used Joomla! for a lot of our client web sites and another lesser known (and lesser liked) CMS that I won’t bother to name here. All in all Joomla! is pretty awesome if you ask me. It may have taken a little getting used to when I first peered under the hood and I admit to having my fair share of frustrations with it but overall I give Joomla! a gold star. I’m still working with Joomla! now that I’m stateside again and plan to continue doing so for some time.
Wordpress however has been phenomenally easier to setup, integrate, and customize from the starting line. I love how simple the administration area is compared to Joomla! and how easy it has been for me to find help online anytime I’ve had one of those “I wonder how you do that” moments. Now I’m not about to start a debate on Joomla! vs Wordpress here. As I said above, I’m still a Joomla! fan. I merely think for this specific site, and for some of the sites I plan on building in the coming months Wordpress will ultimately be a better fit. With time I’m sure both content management systems with find their respectable places in my heart as well as my project list. Until then, welcome to CopperBot Media. I’m extremely pleased that you’ve decided to join me for this creative ride!
Posted by Jay in WebDesign - Leave a Comment
